Catch Him If You Can
by Lord Rekhyt
Summary: Sirius Black and James Potter. Two partners in crime. But when Sirius realizes that he's in love with James, he has to start chasing the boy wonder in order to snare him. Can he do it? Rated M for Slash boyXboy and language
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing, and make no profit from writing fanfiction. All I own is a decrepit word processor and a filthy mind, and if J.K Rowling wants them, then I guess she can have them.

**Warnings: **This will contain SLASH, which, if you don't know, means boyXboy. Also, language. If you don't like it, don't read it.

'_I'd been telling myself for months that I was crazy, that it was just a stupid phase I was going through. I fooled myself into believing it. But now I know better. After everything that happened tonight, I know that what I'm feeling is real. That makes it worse, since now I either have to hide it for the rest of my life, or tell him the truth. But that's just it, how do you tell your best friend and room mate that you're in love with him?'_

Sirius closed his journal and tapped it sharply with his wand, locking it. Hiding it under a pile of clothing in his trunk, he quickly drew the hangings around his bed and pretended to be asleep. He knew that James ad the others would be coming up to bed soon, and he didn't have it in him to talk to them right now. All he could do was lay there and replay what had happened only a hour earlier.

James had gotten a bottle of Firewhiskey from The Hog's Head, and had come into the dormitory looking rather pleased with himself. They were sitting around the opened bottle, when James had suggested a game of Truth or Dare. It had gone fine, up until a point. Half the alcohol was gone, and Peter, who had always been a lightweight and was already drunk, asked James that fateful question.

"James, Truth or Dare?"

"Dare," James replied with a devilish grin.

Peter hiccupped and giggled. "I dare you to kiss Sirius!"

And that had been the eye opener.

James had gone through with the dare, giving Sirius a quick kiss, but for Sirius, it had lasted a lifetime, and everything he had felt for the past two years was finally confirmed beyond any doubt. He was in love with James Potter.

Now Sirius was lying in his bed, wondering what to do. He had suspected for quite some time that he was gay. He had never really fancied girls. But James was another story. Everyone knew that James was after Lily Evans. James was perfectly straight, and therein lies the problem.

Sighing to himself in the darkness, Sirius stared up at the canopy of his four poster bed, wishing he had a Time Turner. But no. There was no such luck for him.

He heard James and Remus talking as they came up the staircase and quickly buried his head in his pillows. He waited until they had entered, talking in low voices, and faked a grunting snore, making sure to sound convincing.

He heard them shuffling around, and some more muted conversation about their plans for the next full moon, until the other boys too had fallen silent on their respective beds. Sirius felt a pressure building inside his chest, and it was with a dejected feeling that he fell asleep that night.

The next morning, he woke up when James jumped on top of him.

"Wake up, sleepy head, or you'll miss breakfast!"

Sirius groaned into his pillow, burrowing deeper and ignoring James.

"Padfoot, come on!"" James said, trying unsuccessfully to yank the blankets off of his best friend, but Sirius had grown quite used to this morning routine and had firmly wrapped the blankets around himself.

"Sirius! Get up!" Peter squealed.

Sirius groaned again and pushed himself from the bed, propping himself up on his elbows. He pushed his shaggy black hair out of his eyes and glared at his friends.

"What time is it?" he asked groggily.

"Late." Remus said.

"There's just enough time for you to fix your hair before breakfast, mate," James said, "And I'd suggest it, since you look like a haystack."

"Fuck off." Sirius said, flopping back down onto his pillows. He had been having a wonderful dream, where he and James were alone in the dormitory, fooling around with each other. One of the reasons why Sirius was so reluctant to leave the sanctuary of his bed was that he could feel his throbbing erection digging into his abdomen and he lay on his stomach.

"Sirius, come one!" James said, trying once more to yank the covers off, but Sirius clung to them with all his might.

He burrowed even deeper into his pillow. The muffled sound of James' voice came to his ears.

"Go on, you two, I'll get the mutt out of his kennel."

Dog jokes aside, Sirius was not about to let James get to him.

He heard Remus and Peter leave. A moment later, he felt James lay his hand on his lower back, and his cock twitched, hardening more.

"Come on, Siri," James said coaxingly, "Let's go get food."

"I'll come down in a minute, James." Sirius sighed, "Go on without me."

But James wasn't listening. He crawled under the covers with Sirius and began poking him in the ribs.

"James, get out of my bed!" Sirius exclaimed, trying to edge away. He came to the end of his bed all too soon, and, with a yelp, began to tumble from it.

James, being a natural born Seeker, grabbed Sirius and jerked him back onto the bed, their bodies suddenly pressed together, facing each other an inch apart.

Even under the blanket, James' blush was visible as Sirius' throbbing member poked his inner thigh. Sirius scooted away from his friend and rolled onto his stomach again.

James silently got off of the bed, his back turned to his best friend.

"I am so sorry Sirius." He said slowly, "Now I know why you didn't wanna get up."

Sirius grunted and slipped out of bed, wrapping the blanket around his waist.

"You go down to breakfast, James. I'm – er – gonna to take a cold shower."

James nodded and left very quickly.

With a deep sigh, Sirius let the blanket fall. He was only wearing pajama bottoms, and they were sticking out greatly.

He made his way to the bathroom and climbed into the shower, letting the warm water cascade over his body. The thought of James, there in the bed with him, made his arching member throb even harder.

He reached down and began to stroke himself, leaning against the shower wall for balance.

"Oh, James." He murmured when he came five minutes later.

He rejoined his friends down in the Great Hall, grinning widely.

"What have we got planned for today?" he asked, avoiding James' eye. Remus checked his watch.

"I don't know about you two," he said, "But Peter and I are going up to the library to get in some extra studying."

Peter groaned, but nodded. His Transfiguration mark was at an all time low, and since they were now in their seventh and final year, he had to pick them up soon.

Sirius looked up at James, who blushed. "What do you want to do?"

James averted his gaze. "I dunno… we'll think of something, I'm sure."

"We could plan our new adventure." Sirius whispered so that only his friends would hear him.

James nodded, still not meeting his friend's eye.

When Remus and Peter left a little later, James chanced a look at Sirius.

"Lets go down to the lake." He said, and they left together in silence. They sat against on of their favorite beech trees, tossing stones into the lake

"Look, I'm sorry about this morning." Sirius said, looking at his friend.

"Forget it." James said, "I should have left you."

Sirius smiled, and James grinned wickedly.

"So who were you dreaming of? Was It Jessie Fletchly?"

Sirius pulled a disgusted face.

"Don't be a prat, Prongs. I wouldn't touch Fletchly for all the Galleons in Gringotts."

"Then who?"

"No one." Sirius replied, looking away when he felt his face go red.

"Okay, but I'm going to find out eventually, you know…"

"I hope not…" Sirius whispered as James turned to stare at the lake.

**A/N: **Slightly short, I know, but it's just the beginning after all. If you'd like more, please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing! Nothing I tell you!

**Warnings:** SLASH (boyXboy) and language. Don't like, then don't read!

A/N: Thank you to those of you who reviewed! The more you review, the more I update!

*gives you cookies*

_**Chapter 2**_

The next morning, Sirius awoke once again to the sound of James's voice coaxing him out of bed.

"Alright, I'm coming." Sirius muttered, climbing out of bed and glaring at his best friend. Looking around, he noticed that Remus and Peter weren't there.

"Where are Moony and Wormtail?" he asked.

"I told them to go, you know, before a repeat of yesterday happens." James replied with a grin.

"So you decided to make them leave, so that you'd have me all to yourself?" Sirius asked with his barking laugh, "James you sly old dog!"

James' grin fell away immediately.

"Gross, Padfoot! That's just wrong."

Sirius stopped laughing. He felt as though James had just slapped him.

"I was only kidding, Prongs."

James rolled his eyes. "I know, Padfoot."

As Sirius got dressed, he decided to ask James a rather important question.

"I never pegged you as a homophobe, mate. Do you really think that it's wrong?"

He had his back to James, pretending to rummage in his trunk.

"No, Sirius." James replied with a soft chuckle. "I don't think it's wrong. Just the idea that I would chase Remus and Peter away for a chance to molest you. That's wrong."

Sirius laughed and felt his face heat up. He stood up and turned to face James, only to walk straight into him. They toppled over onto Sirius' bed, with James laying on top of his best friend.

Sirius stared into James eyes, felling his face flaming, but didn't try to get away. James obviously noticed, because he became slightly rigid and blushed. Unconsciously, he brushed a lock of Sirius' hair from his friends eyes and continued to look at him.

After several long moments, James, as if electrified, jumped off of Sirius and muttered a hasty apology.

Sirius tried to make it sound like the whole thing was a joke and laughed. He followed James out into the common room, and out the portrait hole, heading to a first lesson Potions.

"D'you think that we could skip Charms later and go relax? I'm getting tired of old Flitwick's jabbering." James asked

"Good idea." Sirius agreed, "Anyway, we already know how to use the Summoning spell."

The day passed by quickly, and soon the four Marauders were sitting in the Great Hall, eating their dinner.

"It's a shame that you guys won't be here for Christmas." James said to Remus and Peter, "Sirius and I will have to cause havoc and mayhem without you."

"I'm sure you can cope with that." Remus said dryly. "And I'll be back at Hogwarts before just before Christmas, actually. Peter is the one that'll be gone for the whole holiday."

Peter looked down and mumbled something about his family.

"Well, at least we can make some mischief before the prefect comes back." Sirius laughed to James, pointing at Remus.

"It's not like I've ever been able to stop you guys from causing hell." Remus said, rolling his eyes.

Sirius laughed.

"We'll try to miss you guys any way."

The next day, Remus and Peter left before James and Sirius had woken up. The two of them spent the day sitting in the common room, being two of the only Gryffindors that had decided to stay over the Christmas holiday.

"Want to play Gobstones?" James asked.

"No thanks." Sirius said, feeling unusually listless.

"Chess?"

"No."

"Want to go find Snivellus?"

"Nah. He can manage without our help."

James scrutinized his friend.

"What's wrong with you today, Padfoot? You're not like this."

Sirius shrugged. The truth was that he could think about nothing but James, but he couldn't say that.

"I'm just not feeling my best today, Prongs. I'm sure I'll be fine."

James nodded, not looking entirely convinced.

When they went to bed that night, with Sirius barely speaking the entire day, they changed into their pajamas. Sirius crawled into his bed and kept his back to his best friend, not wanting to watch him get dressed.

"D'you want to go prank McGonagall tomorrow?" Sirius asked lightly.

"Sure." James replied, "it's been a while since we got her."

Sirius sensed James standing next to his bed, and felt him as he climbed under the same blanket as him.

"Um, James, you know this is my bed, right?"

"I'm feeling lonely." James said, a pout evident in his voice. "I don't want to be alone tonight."

Sirius felt his breath catch in his throat, so he just nodded. He felt James snuggle up to him, their naked torsos pressed to one another.

"Sirius?" James said in the darkness.

"Yeah James?"

"Promise not to get mad if I ask you something?"

"Of course." Sirius replied, confused and curios at what James was asking him.

"Okay, well, are you, well, you got very defensive when you asked if I was a homophobe, so, um…"

He cleared his throat.

"Sirius, are you gay?"

Sirius silently cursed Merlin. Of all the things to ask, of all the times to ask, James had to ask that, while they were laying in bed together shirtless.

"James, I er, what I mean is…"

James snuggled closer, and Sirius felt his restraint and caution fall away.

"Yeah, I – I am."

He felt James' nod against his back. "Okay." Was all he said.

Sirius waited for James to pull away from him, but he never did. Right before he fell asleep, he felt James wrap an arm around his waist.

When he woke up, the first thing that Sirius noticed was that it was one of _those _mornings again. He was rock hard, and horribly so. But as his mind shrugged away his sleepy state, he realized that, not only was James still in bed with him, with an arm around him, but James also had a throbbing hard-on, which was pressed into Sirius' backside.

He instantly felt his face burning, and tried to shuffle away from his friend, but James just shuffled closer in his sleep, murmuring incoherently. Again, he felt James' erection pressing into him, which only made his own erection worse.

"James…" he croaked out. "James, wake up."

"S'matter?" James mumbled vaguely.

"James, your, uh, you're kind of pressing into me, and uh, you're…"

"Oh fuck!" James said, pulling away and grabbing the blanket to cover himself. The blanket slid off of Sirius, exposing his pajama clad erection.

"Oh shit!" James said, tossing half of the covers over Sirius. His hand accidentally brushed over Sirius' crotch, eliciting a throaty moan from the shaggy Animagus.

"Sirius, I, I mean…" Sirius groaned and dug his teeth into his pillow, willing his erection to go away, but to no avail.

"Shit, James. I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry." James said, still covering his swollen member.

Both boys laid there for ten minutes, perfectly silent. Sirius had to avert his eyes from James' flustered face, because every time he looked at him, he got the urge to throw caution to the wind and jump him.

"Are you down yet?" Sirius asked in a quiet voice after a long time.

"No…" James replied with a blush, "You?"

Sirius shook his head, wondering what to do next.

They fell silent again. After nearly a minute, James cleared his throat.

"I think I should go to the bathroom." He said, "then we can both, um, take care of it…"

As he made to stand up, however, Sirius grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down.

"We aren't the only ones here, remember?" He said. "Someone could walk in on you."

James nodded and climbed back into bed with his best friend.

"Now what?" he asked. "It's not going away."

Sirius shrugged and looked away. Another minute passed in silence. Then…

Sirius felt the blanket jerk up slightly, and felt a rocking motion on the bed. He turned his head to look at James.

James' one arm was supporting his head, while the other was steadily jerking him off with measured strokes. His face was flushed, and he was biting his lower lip.

Sirius immediately felt his own cock become painfully hard, and he reached down to touch himself. He watched James, drinking in the sight of him playing with himself, until he couldn't take it any more. Without a word, he knocked the other boy's hand out of the way and wrapped his hand around the thick, pulsating member.

James gasped and threw his head back, moaning as Sirius jerked them both off. He glanced at his friend, whose eyes were transfixed with their groins.

"Oh fuck…" James muttered in a low, husky tone, "Sirius… harder…"

Sirius did as he was told. As he did so, he felt James' hand crawl over to him and push his hand out of the way, wrapping it around his shaft.

"You – You're huge!" James exclaimed between gasps for air.

Both boys laid there, playing with each other, until, at last, James began thrusting his hips with every pumping motion, moaning softly.

"Yes… oh… SIRIUS!" he cried out, spilling his seed and coating Sirius' hand in it. Sirius followed shortly after with a growl of animalistic pleasure, covering James' hand in his sticky juices.

Panting and red faced, both boys laid there for a long time, until James finally got out of the bed, blushing furiously.

He murmured something vague and dashed off, holding his hand out like it was coated in something vile. Sirius chuckled as his friend fled, then slowly licked his hand clean, tasting the salty cum and stiffening once again. Before James could re-enter, Sirius jerked himself off again, moaning James' name. Satisfying his urges, he reached over for his wand, just as James reappeared.

"_Scourgify._" Sirius muttered, cleaning the mess on his abdomen and sheets. James blinked in surprise.

"Now why didn't I think of that?" he asked bemusedly.

"Because you're a Muggle." Sirius replied, trying his best to avoid talking about what had just happened.

James scowled at him, then his face set into a look of fear.

"That was just a friendship thing, right?" he asked timidly, "You know, helping each other?"

Sirius sighed. "Yeah, James. Sure. We just helped each other."

"_And you called MY name as you came." _Sirius thought bitterly.

"Okay…" James said with relief, "Yeah."

He sat on Sirius' bed and looked at him.

"So, you're gay, huh? Why didn't you tell me?"

Sirius shrugged. "I didn't know how you'd take it."

James laughed. "As if I could ever hate my best friend." He said, thumping Sirius.

"It isn't just that." Sirius said, turning pink.

"Then what -" James began, then his dropped open in surprise as the truth dawned on him. "You like me, don't you?"

Sirius nodded, looking away.

"Look, James, just forget about everything. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

James nodded. "I'm sorry, Sirius. I just – I don't know what to think. But this doesn't mean that we're not friends."

Sirius smiled, thankful that he wasn't being deserted like some freak, but on the inside he was crying.

Friends… He wanted to be more than that…

A week passed by, and things had returned to normal. They acted no differently around each other, and continued with their pranks and deviant behavior. Today, however, they decided to take a break. They decided to spend the day in the common room, though that was getting really old really fast. An uncomfortable silence was lying heavily between them, each lost in their own thoughts. Sirius finally got tired of it, and stood up, stretching.

"I'm going upstairs." He told James. "If I sit around here any longer, I might become the next Professor Binns."

James nodded absently.

Sirius traipsed upstairs into his dorm room and began rummaging in his trunk. Finding nothing of interest, he kicked off his shoes, took off his shirt, and climbed into his bed, intending to take a nap.

When he woke up later, James was asleep next to him, lying on top of his blankets. Sirius smiled sadly to himself, then carefully climbed out of his bed. Quietly as he could, he got dressed and slipped down the spiral staircase to the common room. It was dark out, about two in the morning, so Sirius had the room to himself. He sat on one of the comfortable chairs and stared out of the window at the large silver moon, which was approaching fullness. He sat there for hours until a very groggy James came to find him.

"What are you doing here?" James asked in a tired voice.

Sirius shrugged. "Nothing. I couldn't sleep."

James nodded distractedly.

"Think we can talk for a bit?"

"Sure…" Sirius replied unsurely.

James sat gingerly on the edge of a chair, seeming to second guess himself.

"You see, Sirius," he began, "I understand that you like me, but I just don't feel the same way. You're my best mate, and I wouldn't want to risk our friendship."

"I've heard that line before, James." Sirius said abruptly. "Just forget I said anything, okay?"

"That's a bit much to forget, don't you think? Especially after…"

He trailed off, his face turning crimson in the moonlight.

"Look, Prongs," Sirius said, "I like you. A lot. That isn't going to just go away all of a sudden. But if you'd rather pretend that I don't feel that way for you, then I can't stop you. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable."

James nodded with a look of relief, and after a brief goodnight went back up to the dormitory. Sirius watched him go with longing, feeling his heart break as he stared at James' retreating form.

**XXX**

A/N: There's chapter 2, I hope you liked it! The faster people review, the sooner I'll update, and I promise more cookies!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does. But if I did, then it woulda been Drarry and SiriJames all the way!

**Warnings:** SLASH (boyXboy) and language. Don't like, then don't read! M RATED SCENE!

A/N: Thank you to everyone that reviewed and/or favorite'd this story. It makes me want to write faster! So the faster you review, the faster I update, though this one took a bit of time…

_**Chapter 3**_

Sirius sat in the room of requirement alone, his head bent over a book and a frown creasing his forehead. Lately, this was all he did. He avoided the common room as much as possible, even skipped meal times, just so that he wouldn't bump into James. James had been looking for Sirius, of course, but Sirius always stayed one step ahead. The only person who knew where he spent his time lately was Remus, and he was too loyal to tell James what was happening.

He sighed deeply and put the book on the shelf.

He was trying to find a spell or potion to stop an attraction, but so far the things he had found were completely unhelpful. There was a spell to make someone attracted to you, but then it wouldn't be real. There was a potion that made another person forget you completely, but that was far from what he wanted. He picked up the next book, but dropped it again quickly. It bounced on its spine and let out a small shriek, but Sirius paid it no heed. Tears filled his eyes and he sank to his knees, sobbing.

Someone cleared their voice behind him. It had to be someone who knew exactly what he was using the room for. Which could only be one person.

"What do you want, Remus?" Sirius asked, wiping his eyes on the back of his hands.

"I wanted to see how it was coming along." Remus said sympathetically, putting a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

"I can't do it, Remus." Sirius choked out. "I – love him."

"I know." Remus said. "I don't think you should give up on him just yet. Let's face it, James can be a prat, and he's a little slow. Give him some time."

Sirius nodded.

"He's out in the grounds at the moment. Why don't you go talk to him?"

"And what would I say, Remus? He knows how I feel. He'll just freak out."

"I didn't say go and confess your undying love to him. Just go and be his friend. Show him that you're still Padfoot, and he's still Prongs, and that you guys are an awesome team.

Sirius sighed. "Alright, Remus. I'm going."

He wiped his wet face on his sleeve and stood up. Walking over to the door, he turned slightly and saw Remus picking up books and returning them to their shelves.

"Thanks, Moony." Sirius muttered as he left.

He wandered down the icy cold corridors of the castle, wondering what he could possibly say to James if he did indeed go to him.

"Sirius!"

"Oh fuck." Sirius said, turning to face James.

James' face fell at the greeting. "um, bad time?"

Sirius shook his head. "No, sorry. Just got a lot on my mind."

James nodded. "I can imagine. You're probably plotting the best way to avoid me."

Sirius snorted. "Like I'd need to plan."

"So you don't deny it, then?"

Sirius shrugged. "Why would I? And anyway, it's not like you're comfortable around me anymore."

James muttered something under his breath.

"Do you think I didn't realize, James?" Sirius asked. "You wait for me to fall asleep every night before you'll come up to the dormitory, only you don't realize that I'm not sleeping."

James ran a hand through his hair. "I have to go." He said abruptly. "Quidditch practice."

He turned tail and sped off down the corridor.

"Sure James." Sirius called after him. "Quidditch practice, at six in the evening. Sure."

Sirius stormed off in the opposite direction. He was furious at himself for not handling the situation better. He shouldn't have gotten upset with James.

When James came to the common room, about half an hour later, Sirius had to choke back a scathing comment. Instead, his eyes followed James up the spiral staircase. He waited a minute, then bolted up the staircase after him.

He found James standing with his back to him, staring out of an open window.

"James," Sirius said softly. "Can we talk please?"

James jumped slightly, but he tried to pass it off as tripping as he turned.

"Um, yeah. Sure Sirius."

"Look James, I'm sorry. I haven't made things easy for you, and I feel like shit for it. I know that you're not happy about it, but I really do love you, and that's exactly why I shouldn't be doing this to you."

"Sirius," James interjected, "It's my fault too. I haven't been much of a friend to you lately. I'm sorry."

Sirius sat gingerly on the foot of James' bed, and James sat next to him.

"I wish I could just stop liking you like I do." Sirius whispered. "It would make everything so much easier."

"It's too late for that." James replied. "We've already made a mess of things. The best we can do now is just try to make something from what we have and try to go back to normal."

Sirius snorted. "We were never normal, James."

James smiled ruefully. "I guess that's true."

Sirius pulled James into a quick hug. "I'm sorry James."

James nodded against Sirius' shoulder. "S'okay, mate."

They pulled apart, and James stared into Sirius' steel blue eyes. Sirius stared back, feeling a bit hot under the collar at James' open staring.

"Have I got something in my teeth?" Sirius asked uncertainly. When James didn't reply, Sirius tried to get up and go to a mirror, but James pulled him back down. Tentatively, he leaned forward and, squeezing his eyes shut, slammed his lips against Sirius'.

Sirius reacted instinctively. He pushed his tongue into James' mouth, wrestling for dominance. James moaned slightly into Sirius' mouth, making the shaggy animagus' head spin. James slid one of his hands under Sirius's shirt, while the other began to undo the buttons. He caressed the warm skin there,, paying extra attention to Sirius's sensitive nipples, while the last of the buttons came undone. Keeping their lips locked together, James pushed the shirt off of Sirius's shoulders, then began working on his own shirt. Roughly, he pulled Sirius on top of him, lying across the four poster bed, and tugging his shirt off. It was only when Sirius felt something long and hard poking into his thigh that he came to his senses.

"James, what are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious?" James asked slyly, his hands now undoing his belt. "I want you Sirius, right fucking now. Take your pants off."

"But James –"

James silenced Sirius with a bruising kiss, fumbling as he kicked his pants and boxers off. With one hand, he grabbed his wand and flicked it at the bed's curtains, closing them and placing a silencing charm around them.

Sirius stopped thinking at that point. He kicked off his own clothing, stripping down until he was wearing nothing, and grinded himself down on James's exposed erection. James let out a throaty moan, running his hands up Sirius's spine in pleasure. Sirius ran his hands through James hair, then began placing kisses along his jaw, moving downwards. He kissed his neck gently, then his chest. He flicked his tongue over one of James's nipples, massaging the other one between two fingers. He then kissed down James's abdomen, then his navel. Gently, he cupped James's balls in one hand, feeling their warmth, and began to rub them while his tongue flicked over the tip of James's erect manhood.

"Oh God, Sirius…" James moaned.

James tasted better than Sirius had ever imagined in his fantasies. He ran his tongue up from the bottom of the shaft to the tip, then, slowly, slid the head into his mouth and sucked on it. James let out a loud moan and dug his fingernails into Sirius's shoulders. Sirius took this as a sign to continue, so he slowly began taking in more and more of James's hard-on, until the whole thing was in his mouth. Sirius began to suck hard, bobbing his head quickly. James continued to moan, and Sirius stuck three fingers into his mouth. James sucked obediently, until the fingers were completely lathered. Sirius brought the hand down to James's tight entrance and gradually inserted one digit. James whimpered a little in discomfort, but he didn't say anything. Sirius gently thrusted the finger until James had become accustomed to it, then added a second finger. When he added the third finger, James was screaming in pleasure.

Sirius scissored his fingers, stretching James, then began to move them around, searching. When he hit James's prostate, James cried out loudly.

"Siri, I'm gonna –"

Sirius began sucking even harder, bringing James to his climax. He shot his load into Sirius's mouth, and Sirius began to swallow around the hard member. He slowly pulled his fingers out of James, and the other boy whimpered at the loss.

"Sirius." He panted.

"Yeah?"

"Fuck me."

Sirius paused. "Are you sure?"

James nodded. Sirius placed the tip of his hard-on against James's entrance, and pushed in a little. James shifted in discomfort, but said nothing. It was only when Sirius was half way in that he began to get uncomfortable.

"Slow down." He whispered from between clenched teeth.

Sirius nodded and kissed James, sliding his tongue into the other's mouth. This seemed to help, so Sirius pushed in a little further while wrapping his hand around James's slightly soft member. He pumped it until it was hard again, the pushed in all the way. James's face scrunched up in pain, so Sirius stopped, allowing James to become used to his length. After a while, James started squirming.

"For fuck sake, Sirius," James complained, "Move! I need it."

Sirius grinned and pulled out, almost to the tip, and slammed back in roughly. James cried out from a mixture of pain and pleasure. The second time, the cry wasn't as bad. By the third, James was panting and jerking himself off to the same rhythm.

"Oh fuck, yes!" he moaned, "Right there. Sirius, right there."

Sirius picked up his pace, and James began to hyperventilate, moaning Sirius's name over and over. James's muscles tightened as he reached his second climax, shooting his seed all over their chests, and with a loud grunt, Sirius came deep inside of James. Panting, he collapsed against the smaller boy's chest.

"Wow." Sirius said. He slowly pulled his cock out and rolled onto his back, staring at the roof.

"You said it." James said tiredly. He wrapped an arm over Sirius's chest and drifted off into a deep sleep, leaving Sirius to clean their mess before it dried. He grabbed his wand and muttered a quick spell, then tossed the wand onto the bedside table. He wrapped an arm around James and, smiling to himself, fell asleep.

_**XXX**_

When he woke up the next morning, Sirius was slightly confused. He remembered falling asleep in James's arms, but now James was gone.

'_Probably gone to take a shower.' _Sirius thought to himself. He stretched lazily and pulled on his pants. Standing, he retrieved a clean shirt and pulled it on, just as James walked into the room. Sirius smiled and was about to greet him, when he noticed the icy look he was getting.

"Are you okay, James?" Sirius asked cautiously.

"Oh yes," James replied sarcastically. "I'm perfectly fucking fine."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "What the hell is wrong with you, James?"

"Maybe the fact that you practically raped me last night." James replied, and Sirius froze.

After a while, he spoke. "You're joking, right?" he asked. "Because from what I remember, you were the one that kissed me, you're the one that took my clothes off, and you were the one that begged me to fuck you."

"Begged?" James said incredulously, "I didn't beg for anything, Sirius! You fucking took advantage of me! Is that what you were doing in the room of requirement all this time? Trying to find a spell to make me sleep with you?"

"What?" Sirius screamed. "No! I didn't do anything! You came on to me!"

James's face flushed red. "Fuck you, Black. If I wasn't so embarrassed about it, I'd tell everyone that you raped me."

Furious, Sirius sneered at him. "Is that right, Potter? Well how's this, I'll do it for you."

He turned tail and bolted down the staircase before James could stop him. The common room was crowded, which suited Sirius just fine.

"Hey, everyone!" he yelled. A silence fell on the crowd just as James got to the bottom of the stairs.

"I thought you might all like to know what James and I did last night."

"Sirius Black you shut your mouth." James spluttered.

"I don't think so, James." Sirius retorted. "Last night," he said in a raised voice, "James and I fucked on his bed, and your precious hero, Potter, enjoyed every minute that he had his cock in my mouth. Then, he begged me to fuck him in his ass, and he whimpered in pleasure the entire time!"

The crowd went silent. Peter and Reums's eyes were as wide as saucers.

A few girls in the corner of the room giggled, while most of the guys looked disgusted.

"There you go, Potter." Sirius said, tears forming in his eyes. "Now you don't have to worry anymore. Everyone already knows."

He pushed past James and fled up the staircase. Inside his dorm, he went to the bathroom and locked himself in. He leaned against the wall, crying, until Remus came to look for him. He cried and shouted, he told Remus to leave him alone, until Remus admitted defeat and left. It was hours later when he finally emerged, the bitter knot in his stomach robbing him of his appetite for dinner, and collapsed on his bed.

"I hope you're fucking happy, Black." A voice said.

Turning his tear streaked face, he saw James leaning against the door, his face looking like the blackest thundercloud.

"The entire school knows now. I hope you're happy that you've ruined my life."

"Well I guess we're even then." Sirius replied thickly. "Because you broke my heart, you cold uncaring prick!"

James sneered. "And I enjoyed doing it, too." He said. "You were just such an easy target."

There was a moment of silence.

"_Confringo!" _Sirius yelled, just as James cried _"Expulso!"_

The two jtes of light connected in mid air and ricocheted off of each other. One smashed through a window, while the other blasted half of Sirius's bed into fragments of splintered wood.

They stood facing each other, wands raised, for what felt like eternity. Time seemed to become meaningless, and neither one backed down.

Eventually, James lowered his wand.

"We're through, Black." He said, turning to the door. "I never want to see you again. For all I care, you can just die."

With that, he walked out of the door.

That was the last time Sirius spoke to James. For the rest of their final year at Hogwarts, James kept a rather large distance between them Even during their graduation ceremony, He only caught a fleeting glance of his former best friend.

As he boarded the train way from Hogwarts, ready to start out his life after school, Sirius felt a pang of deep pain in his chest. He had lost the one thing he valued most, and he would never be able to get it back…

_**XXXXXXX**_

A/N: Finally done with this chapter! Wow, that took me ages. Anyway, if you review, I'll give you all cookies! And if you review fast, the next chapter will be up sooner! Yes, that's right, this story isn't over yet! So if you leave me some love, I'll update again soon, maybe even on Christmas if I get the chance. Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate it. Otherwise, just enjoy another normal like, like I'm gonna do!

PUSH THE GREEN BUTTON!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter!

**Warnings:** SLASH (boyXboy) and language. Don't like, then don't read!

A/N: Sorry about the wait, things have been hectic… *gasps for air*

_**Chapter 4**_

Three years had passed since that fateful day at Hogwarts. Sirius had graduated friendless and alone, and hadn't even stayed for the celebration party afterwards. The second that the Headmaster had handed out the diplomas, he had gone upstairs and grabbed few belongings, striking out alone into the world. He found a rudimentary job at the Ministry of Magic, working in the Experimental Charms department, and managed to scrape out a living from that, but a year and a half later he caught a break. He had been working on a novel, based o the antics and misadventures he and his former friends had in school, and had manage to publish it in both the magical and non-magical worlds alike, although in the muggle world the book was published under the fiction section.

This had brought in a lot of money, and had allowed him to quit his miserable job in the Experimental Charms and devote his time to his writing. He wrote from the heart, with a lot of his works reflecting his own personal experiences and tribulations. In one of his novels, he had named the main character James, and had run the character down emotionally, though not in an attempt to belittle James Potter. It was more of a play on what James had done to him.

Sirius was loath to admit it, but he was still completely in love with James. He had many a sleepless night thinking about him, and at times he would go so far as to attempt to contact him, but he always stopped himself before he did. When he started to feel as though he was loosing his mind, he decided to give the Ministry another try, and got himself a job in the Department of Mysteries. It was paperwork more than anything else, but it was exactly what Sirius needed to get his mind off of James Potter.

When Sirius got to work that morning, it was raining heavily. He used a quick spell to dry his sodden robes and hair, and went down to his office. The Magical Maintenance crew, who were striking once again, had made the windows in his office storm for the better part of the morning. When Sirius returned from lunch, hoping for some sunshine, he found that it had deteriorated into a vicious hurricane. With a heartfelt sigh, Sirius rubbed his temples. Another ten minutes passed in relative peace before his boss, Mr. Murphy, popped his head into his office.

"Black," he said, "I've got some practical work for you, as well as a new partner."

This made him quirk an eyebrow.

"A new one? What happened to Patrick?"

"Mr. Gunn suffered an unexpected accident." Mr. Murphy said. "He was trying to create a new, and illegal, version of apparition. He failed, and was so severely splinched that members of the Accidental Magical Reversal squad were unable to save him."

Sirius flinched. "So who's my new partner?"

Mr. Murphy frowned, as though the question irritated him. "I haven't met him as of yet. He was transferred from another department."

Sirius nodded.

"So anyway, I wan you down in the old amphitheater in fifteen minutes. There's an old arch that we found that needs to be studied."

"An arch?" Sirius asked.

"Yes. Very mysterious." And be sure to not pass through the arch, we've already lost two people that way."

Sirius nodded. Mr. Murphy's tone left it clear that by 'lost', he met they had died.

As soon as Mr. Murph had left, Sirius flipped him off.

"Asshole." He muttered.

Ten minutes later, Sirius arrived in the empty amphitheater. In it's center stood a veiled arch, with it's broad stone boarder engraved with strange markings. Sirius ran his hand over the rough stone curiously, examining them with interest. There seemed to be some kind of pattern to the symbols, but without knowing their meanings the pattern wasn't decipherable.

Sirius was so engrossed in his inspection that he didn't hear when footsteps approached him, and he didn't register the appearance of the other person until he spoke.

"They're calling it the arch of Death, you know."

Sirius froze at the sound of the voice that had haunted his dreams for the past three years. It was older and more mature sounding, certainly, but it was unmistakably James Potter.

"I've heard." Sirius replied in barely a whisper. He heard the footsteps get closer, and his heart began to thumping painfully against his ribs as his breath hitched.

He shut his eyes and willed himself to calm down.

"It's been a long time, Black." James said casually.

"Yeah, it has." Sirius said quietly. "Three years, Potter."

"What have you been up to?"

"I wrote a few books," Sirius replied. "Then I came to the ministry, since I was getting bored."

"Bored?" James inquired, sounding only mildly curious. His courteous yet apathetic attitude was starting to irritate Sirius.

"I make more than enough money off of my writing." Sirius boasted smugly. "This is more of a hobby."

You can't be that great a writer, Black." James sneered, "I haven't even seen your name in the papers."

"Maybe because you still can't read, Potter." Sirius retorted, "You never really had brains."

Sirius finally turned around to face him, another cutting remark on the tip of his tongue, but words failed him.

James had changed in many ways. While he was still thinner than Sirius, he had acquired some muscle to his body, clearly displayed under the tight black button-down shirt he was wearing. His hair was longer and scruffier than ever, and his brown eyes seemed to have acquired a kind of depth to them that wasn't there when they were younger.

James' mocking expression faltered under Sirius' scrutinizing gaze.

"What?" he asked nervously. "Is there something on my face?"

Sirius shook his head slowly. "No, it's just…"

Meeting again after all this time?" James asked.

"Yeah."

James nodded, his eyes going slightly glassy as he did so. He looked more like the James from three years ago, back when they were only seventeen. He seemed unsure and momentarily vulnerable, but the moment passed, and his eyes became guarded once more.

"Shall we start?" Sirius asked shyly.

James shrugged.

In silence, the two men went about trying to decipher the cryptic symbols, occasionally shooting each other furtive glances.

When the end of the day came, Sirius stood up and stretched.

This is going to take months." James muttered ruefully.

Sirius nodded, then hesitated. "Do you want to go for a drink?" he asked timidly.

James froze.

"I, uh, don't think I can."

"Oh, okay." Sirius said, trying to sound off hand about it. "No problem."

"Maybe some other time." James said, walking away and leaving Sirius to stare after him, as he had done so often during their days in Hogwarts.

After apparating home, Sirius collapsed on his sofa with a glass of red wine.

"Fucking Potter." He whispered. "Why now, after three years?"

But he thought he knew why. It was fate, playing out its cruel and twisted game, forcing him to see the man that he still loved, the man he couldn't have, every day.

"How wonderful." He said bitterly.

_**XXX**_

The next few days were exactly the same; they would exchange a few pleasantries, resort to insults, then lapse into a morbid silence while they worked. And every day, Sirius would stare at James out of the corner of his eye.

One day, about a month after they had reunited, as they were about to leave for the night James turned to him.

"Sirius," he said tentatively, "I'll take that drink now, if you're available."

"I'm always available." Sirius replied monotonously, and for a second a look of regret flashed through James' eyes.

They left the Ministry and apparated to Hogsmede, having agreed to stick to the magical community rather than brave a Muggle bar.

They sat next to one another at a small table in the Three Broomsticks, and shrugged their coats off.

"Kind of nostalgic, isn't it?" Sirius commented, and James chuckled.

"Yeah, we used to sneak out of school to get alcohol here, or at the Hogs Head. I wonder if Aberforth…"

"He's still there." Sirius confirmed. "I go there when I'm not in the mood for a cheerful atmosphere."

"So do you drink often then?" James asked lightly. Sirius caught the interrogative tone and had to suppress a smile.

"Not often, no." he answered. "Only when I feel like it, which is once every few weeks."

"And, um, how are Remus and Peter?"

Sirius stared at him blankly.

"James, I haven't heard a word from Remus, Peter, or anyone else since we left Hogwarts."

James seemed startled by this.

"Me neither. I figured that, well, since they weren't talking to me, that maybe they had sided with you after that fight we had…"

Sirius shook his head slowly. "I guess they didn't really side with anyone, James. I haven't heard a word from them."

James nodded thoughtfully, sipping his drink.

"Um, how's Lily?" Sirius asked tentatively, unsure if James would answer. Part of him wished that he wouldn't.

"She's good." James replied evasively. "Drives me up the wall sometimes, though."

Sirius forced himself to chuckle with apparent humor.

"So did you guys ever get married, then?"

James shook his head. "Not yet. We're , well, kind of engaged now."

Sirius' heart sank at these words as if encased in an icy grip, but he managed to force some words of congratulations out from between his clenched teeth.

"She said to send her greetings, since we see each other at work…"

"Oh…" Sirius said dumbly, "Okay…"

They left soon after, exchanging an awkward goodbye as they went their separate ways.

When Sirius got home and crawled into bed he couldn't stop replaying the night's events in his mind.

They weren't exactly friends again, but there was more hope than he had felt in three years. As for his engagement to Lily Evans… Hearing that news had hurt Sirius more than he would care to admit, but if that was the price of James' friendship he was willing to take it. With a morbid pout, he flicked his wand at the lights, turning them off. He gave a sigh as he drifted into sleep, hoping that he and James would still be talking in the morning.

_**X**_

When Sirius arrived at the amphitheater at his usual time, he found James already here, waiting. As he approached, James jumped to his feet, grinning.  
"Hey Siri!" James greeted enthusiastically.

"Hey…" Sirius replied tentatively, taken aback by James' excitement.

"Thanks for last night," James said with a faintly boyish smile, "I needed that."

"Me too." Sirius said. "We should do it again sometime."

James nodded. "How about we get together in Diagon Alley on Saturday?"

Sirius considered it. In the three years that had passed, Voldemort had become increasingly powerful, and his Death Eaters were everywhere, killing and cursing indiscriminately. These were dangerous times, and everyone was afraid to be out in the open, anywhere where the Death Eaters could find attack openly.

Diagon Alley was, for the time being, not under any real threat from them, s it was moderately safe.

"Sure," Sirius told James, who beamed with delight.

"Great! I just hope that Lily doesn't try to butt in…"

Sirius nodded distractedly, both mesmerized by James' animated body language and confused as to why he sounded so put out with his fiancée.

"Let's get to work." Sirius said. "This arch won't decipher itself."

"We could always hope." James replied, pulling out his wand and conjuring tools to help them.

They continued to talk while they worked, more relaxed than they had been since their argument in Hogwarts, when they had tried to kill one another. It was almost as if they were picking up exactly where they had left off, disregarding what had happened all those years ago. Sirius felt a faint tinge of regret, wishing he could talk to James about what had happened that night in their dormitory when they had had sex, clear the air after the accusations that had taken place, but he didn't want to risk angering James, not now when they were finally talking again.

Sirius bent forward, intent on decoding on particularly difficult symbol. It seemed to be an important one.

"Black! Potter! Get up to the atrium immediately!"

It was Mr. Murphy.

"What's going on?" James asked curiously.

"The Minister For Magic has some important news regarding He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

Sirius frowned and picked up his wand, stowing it in his pocket. He followed James out of the amphitheater and to the elevator, wondering what could be so important.

"Any idea what's going on?" he asked James as the elevator began to move. James shook his head.

"No clue. But it must be big."

Arriving in the atrium, they saw a massive crowd, encompassing just about every Ministry worker. Ahead, on a hastily conjured platform, the Minister was waiting to address them.

"Friends," he said gravely. "We have received word that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is currently abroad, searching for something. In this time, we need to start erecting more protection and ensure the safety of Witches and Wizards across the country. We assume that the reason from his absence is that he is procuring something with which to fight against the ministry. Therefore, starting Monday, we are pulling a lot of people off of their usual jobs so as to strengthen the protection here."

Everyone was silent.

"Isn't he overreacting?" James whispered. "I mean, all of this just because Voldemort is out of the country?"

Sirius nodded. "I agree. It's stupid."

They went back to their amphitheater and started to work again, with the Minister's words still ringing in their heads. The Minister seemed to be panicked, more so than usual. And Voldemort… Surely he didn't need to travel abroad to find something to take on the ministry. He had a lot of power already, Death Eaters, Giants, Inferi, Werewolves…

Sirius shook his head. He would worry about that some other time.

On Saturday, Sirius was excited. He took pains with his appearance, making sure that he was dressed well and properly groomed. He apparated into the Leaky Cauldron and waited anxiously for James to appear. It wasn't long before there was a faint popping sound to his left, and James appeared.

"Morning, Potter." Sirius said with a grin.

"Morning Sirius!" James replied. "Let's get going."

They went into the back, tapped the brick on the wall, and walked into Diagon Alley. It was a sunny day, and the long, winding alley was full of people.

"Where too?" Sirius asked.

"There's a new restaurant that opened near Flourish and Blotts, we could grab some breakfast."

"Sounds good to me."

An hour later, when Sirius was having a really good time and enjoying James' company, the atmosphere around them changed. A single high pitched scream ripped through the air as men in Black cloaks began apparating every few feet and raising wands. Their masked faces showed their allegiance as Death Eaters.

"We have to do something!" Sirius said, pulling out his wand and Stunning the nearest Death Eater.

James pulled his wand out and cast a protective spell around the two of them before attacking. They had felled five Death Eaters when a particularly large one appeared in front of them. He raised his wand and said something vague, and Sirius felt something knock against the back of his head, forcing him to the floor. Next to him, the same had happened to James.

His last conscious thought was worrying for James' safety, and then he knew only darkness.

_**XXXXX**_

A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long! Anyway, there with be some Slash in the next chapter, as well as some revelations between Sirius and James! Stay tuned!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter!

**Warnings:** SLASH (boyXboy) and language.

A/N: Don't even ask…

_**Chapter 5**_

When Sirius' consciousness began to return, the first thing that he noticed was that he was in a dark room, and the ground that he was slumped on was unbelievably hard and rough. He groaned and tried to sit, but found that his wrists were bound. When he tried to shift his wrists, the rope holding them grew hotter and hotter, until it began scorching his skin.

He scrunched his eyes against the pain and whimpered lightly, dropping back down.

"Sirius?" a faint voice whispered. "Siri? Is that you?"

"James?" Sirius croaked. Speaking burned his throat, and he tried to shuffle closer to where he had heard the noise.

"Sirius, the Death Eaters brought us down here. I woke up as they were casting their spells."

"Where are we, James?"

"I'm not sure. But they took our wands."

Sirius grunted and moved closer to him. In the dark, he bumped against James and jerked back slightly, the rope burning his skin again.

"Shit." He swore, gritting his teeth in pain.

"Don't move your arms, Siri." James said. "The curse they put on the ropes is a powerful one."

"I kind of figured that one out for myself, Prongs. Thanks."

James' body jerked at the sound of his old nickname, and he swore as his bonds burned him. "Wow. No one's called me that in years."

Sirius smiled slightly in the darkness, but didn't comment.

"You know," James continued in a hushed, sad voice, "I never shifted again after that last fight. I tried, but I couldn't. It's like there was something missing."

Sirius frowned in thought. "You couldn't shift? I didn't try again after that fight."

He felt James nod. "But when I saw you again, sitting there in that amphitheater, I felt it again. It was like in that instant, I was whole again…"

Sirius shook his head, clearing his mind.

"I don't mean to ruin the moment, Prongs, but we have to get out of here. We can reminisce about the old days later."

He heard James stifle a laugh. "Good idea. But where do we even start? We don't know where we are, or who we're up against. Hell, we don't even have wands!"

"We'll figure something out James." Sirius replied, just as the sound of footsteps drew nearer. On the other side of the room, a bluish white light appeared as a door was opened, shining off the tip of a wand.

A wand…

Sirius' brain kicked into overdrive, and he let his body go limp and crash back down to the ground.

"Sirius! Sirius, what's wrong?"

"What's going on down here?" a rough voice asked, pointing the wand in their direction.

"Sirius, talk to me!" James pleaded. "No, Sirius…"

The wand light moved closer, and Sirius jerked his body toward it, rolling into the man's legs and knocking him to the ground forcefully. As he hit the ground, Sirius pushed himself on top of him, ignoring the rope that burned at his skin, and bit down on the man's arm as hard as he could. Before he could cry out in pain, Sirius twisted his body and rammed his knee into the side of the man's head, knocking him out.

"That takes care of one problem." Sirius said nonchalantly, twisting around and taking grasping around for the still lit wand.

He turned slightly to face James, only to be kicked in the stomach.

"Shit, James! What was that for?"

"Padfoot you complete prat! You scared the life out of me!"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Save it for later, James. Now let's get these damn ropes off…"

The Death Eater's curses were strong, and it took a while to find a counter-curse powerful enough to break through it. Sirius massaged his burned wrists, murmuring in pain.

"Let's get out of here." He muttered.

"I need a wand." James stated. "Fuck, I need _my _wand."

"We'll get them. We just need to be careful. Maybe we should use our animal forms instead."

James snorted. "Yeah, because the Death Eaters wouldn't be at all suspicious of a stag and a great shaggy dog wandering around their hideout…"

Sirius blushed. "My bad. Guess I wasn't' thinking straight."

James smirked. "Well you are gay after all, Padfoot, so it makes sense that you can't do something straight."

"Oh fuck off, Potter." Sirius retorted, but he was grinning.

James opened his mouth to say something else, but cut himself off with a worried look. Another bluish light was creeping toward them.

"_Nox!_" Sirius whispered, extinguishing his wand's light. Carefully, they made their way to the back of the room, dragging the body of the fallen Death Eater with them.

"Mulciber," The new Death Eater said roughly, "what's taking so long?"

Sirius shot a Stunning Spell at him, but it was avoided. The Death Eater opened his mouth to yell for help, and Sirius pointed his wand desperately.

"_Silencio!_"

The man's voice was extinguished, and he shot Sirius a vile look as he slashed his wand through the air. Fire erupted from the tip, coming toward them like a whip. Sirius managed a Shield Charm before it hit them, and promptly shot a curse at him. The Death Eater didn't block in time, and was hurled against the wall before dropping to the ground and lying motionless.

"_Accio Wand!_" Sirius murmured, not wanting to risk getting too close to the man, in case he was feigning unconsciousness.

"Here," he said, tossing the other wand to James, who caught it with a relieved look. "We need to take care of these two, then find our wands."

James nodded. They Stunned the Death Eaters to make sure they stayed where they were before heading out of the room and up a long staircase.

"Maybe we should just get out, forget our wands." James said quietly.

"Are you mad?" Sirius asked indignantly. "I happen to like that wand."

James shrugged. "It was just a thought."

They crept forward until they reached a door at the end of a long hallway. The door was slightly ajar, and they could see that the room beyond was cavernous. Voices could be heard inside the room, so they stopped to listen.

"Where the hell are Mulciber and Dolohov?" a voice asked.

"I don't know." A second voice said dismissively. "And I don't care, either."

"You do realize that aside from those two we're the only ones in this god-forsaken dump, right?" the first voice argued.

"So what? It's not like anyone is going to come knocking on the front door."

Sirius grinned at James, who grinned back. If they were the only two Death Eaters left in the house, there was a better chance of retrieving their wands and escaping. While the two continued to argue, Sirius motioned James forward, and they burst into the room, brandishing the stolen wands.

"_Petrificus Totalus!_" yelled Sirius, and one of the Death Eaters instantly went rigid and toppled from his seat. There was a flash of light, and the second Death Eater was hoisted into the air by his leg, left to dangle helplessly as his wand fell from his hand. Sirius quickly scooped up the two new wands and inspected them.

"Not ours." He said as the Death Eater yelled for the two that had already been Stunned.

"Where are the wands you took from us?" James asked threateningly, pointing a wand into the Death Eater's face. He paled, but said nothing. Sirius flicked his wand, and a deep gash appeared on the man's face, making him howl in pain.

"My friend asked you a question." Sirius said with a false smile. "Unless you want me to carve you up, I'd suggest you answer him, yeah?"

"The table." The man choked out. "On the table!"

Sirius looked to where the table was, and saw two wands lying there. He picked his up, and felt a warmth spreading up his arm as he was reunited with his wand. He gave James his wand back, and he turned the Death Eater's wand on its owner.

"_Obliviate!_"

The man's eyes became blank and unfocused, and a second later, James had Stunned him. Sirius did the same to the other Death Eater before they left the house at a jog.

"No telling if someone else might show up." James muttered as they opened the door and headed down the garden path, exiting the premises. Without a word, Sirius took James' hand and Disapperated back to his home, taking his friend with him.

_**X**_

When they arrived at his house, Sirius immediately fell onto one of the sofas. A second later, he leapt up, moaning in discomfort. He pulled the Death Eaters wands from his pocket, then regarded them stoically.

"Think we should destroy them?" he asked. "Or should we keep them as spares?"

James frowned, sitting next to his friend.

"I say we get rid of them. I wouldn't want to keep one of their wands."

Sirius nodded and pulled out his wand. Pointing it, he murmured a spell, and the four wands shattered before their eyes, the remains bursting into bright green flames.

For several long minutes, nether of them spoke. What had only been one afternoon in reality had felt like a life time. Sirius wearily ran his fingers through his long black hair.

"D'you want something to drink?" he asked James, who nodded gratefully. Sirius left the room and headed to the kitchen, where he started making coffee. While he was at it, he made several sandwiches to go with the coffee. When he returned to the living room, he found James inspecting the large cabinet that housed Sirius' collection of the novels he had written.

Sirius set the plate of sandwiches on the table and walked up to James, handing him a steaming mug of coffee.

"Thanks." James murmured, accepting it eagerly. "Wow Siri, when you said you had written some books, I didn't think you meant this many…"

Sirius chuckled. "After Hogwarts I didn't really have much going on in my life. I had more than enough time to write these."

James winced slightly, but chose not to address it. "Yeah, but it' been, what, three years? How do you write eight novels in three years?"

Sirius shrugged, stifling a yawn. "I had some spare time, and I didn't like working at the Ministry."

James nodded. Sirius made his way over to the couch, grabbing a sandwich on the way. Taking a large bite, he motioned for James to help himself, and for a while they ate in comfortable silence. It wasn't until James looked up at the small glass clock on the wall and sighed deeply that Sirius spoke.

"Time to head home?" he inquired, and James gave a noncommittal jerk of his head.

"I don't really want to." He admitted, looking out the window.

Sirius frowned slightly. "Is everything, er, okay at home? With Lily?"

James grunted, which Sirius assumed was a no. He waited patiently, knowing that he ought not to push.

"Things with Lily are awkward at best." James said softly. "We barely speak any more, and we try to avoid each other most of the time."

"Why?"

It took a while before James replied.

"I'm not in love with her." He whispered. "And she knows it."

"Then why are you engaged?" Sirius asked, before realizing how insensitive that sounded. He opened his mouth to apologize, but James was already talking again.

"It felt like the right thing to do." James said with a shrug. "We were sitting there one day, not really saying much, and there was something in the Prophet about a wedding that she was reading. Then she looks up and says 'I think we should get married'. Of course, I objected, but she gave me a long lecture about living in sin, and about how she doesn't want to be seen as some easy slut. In the end, she more or less implied that it was either get married or break up."

Sirius' eyes were narrowed as he took in James' words. Lily really was an idiot…

"Are you sure it's worth it, then?" he asked. "If you marry her, won't you be even more unhappy?"

James didn't answer, but Sirius didn't really expect him to. He looked completely dejected, and Sirius felt bad for him.

"Why don't you give her a Floo call and tell her you're staying here tonight?"

James shook his head and stood up. "She'll pitch a fit. Telling her that is like jumping off the Astronomy tower back at school; fatal. I'd better get going… I'll see you on Monday, Siri."

"Bye Prongs." Sirius said, patting James on the back awkwardly. A moment later he Disapparated, leaving Sirius alone once more.

_**X**_

It was nearly nine at night when Sirius heard a loud knock on his front door while he was eating his dinner. Perplexed, he made his way to the door, wondering who would come calling at this hour. He drew his wand before opening the door, worried that it might be a Death Eater.

"James?"

"Hey Padfoot…"

James Potter was standing on his doorstep, looking thoroughly pissed off. Sirius stepped aside and allowed James to enter; shutting the door once he was over the threshold.

"What happened?" Sirius asked simply as they headed to the kitchen.

"Lily." James replied, dropping onto a chair. "I told her what happened with the Death Eaters, and she didn't believe me. She yelled, and I quote, 'What were you really up to with that whore-friend of yours?' I got pissed off and yelled back, and she threw me out the house. I had no where else to go, so…"

Sirius looked confused. "She called me a whore? But I'm so cute and lovable…"

James laughed. "You truly are one of a kind, you know that?"

"The world can only handle one of me." Sirius agreed with a wide grin.

Finishing his dinner, Sirius stood up and went to the living room, laying out blankets and a pillow on the couch.

"I don't have a guest room," he told James, "so you can take my room. I've fallen asleep on this couch often enough to be comfortable on it, so I don't really mind."

"You sure?" James asked skeptically. "I don't want to kick you out of your own room."

Sirius smiled. "Nah, it's not a big deal. Anyway, do you wanna stay up and talk for a bit, or do you want to go to bed?"

"Talk." James said, sitting down. "It's too early for bed."

After nearly an hour of idle chit-chat, their conversation turned to more weighty subjects.

"Why do you say you don't love Lily?" Sirius asked. "You used to be nuts about her."

James looked uncomfortable. "I was. But once I got together with her, it was different. It was like all that love and emotion had left."

"Left?"

"Shifted." James replied, looking away. "To someone else."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on it. When Sirius didn't say anything, James sighed and shook his head.

"Anyway, Lily and I… I don't even know what to do anymore."

"Then why don't you just call it off?" Sirius asked.

James shrugged. "Maybe I will. We've been together since we left Hogwarts, though. It's a long time to be with someone."

"Someone you don't even love." Sirius pointed out.

"That's beside the point."

"That's exactly the point. You're living a lie, Jamey…"

"I know that!" James yelled, standing up and beginning to pace in front of the sofa. "Don't you think I hate what I'm doing? I don't love her! I don't want to be with her! But at the same time, I don't want to hurt her. Things used to be great between us. It's just…"

Sirius sighed. He pulled James onto his lap and hugged him, stroking his hair.

"I know, Jamey. I understand."

James grunted and leaned his head against Sirius' shoulder. "I'm being an idiot, aren't I?"

Sirius chuckled. "No, James. You're not."

"I am. I need to stop avoiding this. I've either got to sort things out, or leave her."

"Let's hope for the latter." Sirius muttered, but James didn't hear him. "Let's get to bed, James. We need to get in to the Ministry early tomorrow to tell them what happened in Diagon Alley."

James nodded. He stood up and made to walk past Sirius, but the dark haired man turned to say something to him, and that's when it happened. They were close to one another, so when Sirius turned his face was inches from James. Without thought, James pressed his lips against Sirius', wrapping his arms around the larger man's waist. Sirius wasted no time, slipping his tongue into James' hot mouth. James moaned slightly, grinding his hips against Sirius. He gasped when he felt Sirius run a hand down his back and firmly grasp his buttocks.

Sirius pulled out of the kiss and looked into James' eyes.

"James?" he asked almost shyly.

"Bedroom." James replied, tugging Sirius with his out of the room.

**XXXX**


End file.
